Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

7/24 Links Part 2: Douglas Murray on the EU Hezbollah 'ban', Muslim Anger over Virtual ‘Third Temple’

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: The EU fails to ban Hezbollah

Still – at least we can look forward to watching this unfold in the coming months and years. I almost look forward to British and EU officials trying to explain whether it is the political or military wing of Hezbollah which is currently massacring non-Shiites in Syria. And in a way I will relish watching them trying to explain why future suicide bombings like that in Bulgaria come from an organisation called ‘Hezbollah’ and not an organisation called ‘Hezbollah’.

ADL: EU Hizbullah Decision 'Flawed Counter-Terrorist Strategy'

The Anti-Defamation League has called the European Union’s decision to designate the military wing of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization “a positive political statement, but a flawed counter-terrorism strategy.”
The organization reiterated profound concerns that the partial blacklisting of Hizbullah would be largely ineffectual, because law enforcement will not be able to comprehensively target Hizbullah’s financial activities in Europe.

Israel to start supplying EU with intel on Hezbollah

Law enforcement authorities, homeland security officials and intelligence agencies in the EU’s 28 countries will need a plethora of information to make sure that Hezbollah’s military wing does not continue to operate on the continent, the officials added.

Prosor: EU's Hizbullah Blacklist is Not Sufficient

Addressing the UN Security Council, Prosor likened the separation between Hizbullah’s “military” and “political” arms to trying to distinguish between one’s left arm and right arm.
"This is indeed a necessary step to block Hizbullah’s financing channels but it is not sufficient. Distinguishing between Hizbullah’s military wing and its political arm is an illusion, a fiction, that will not stand the test of time," he stated.

Robert Fisk on Hezbollah and its Europe ban needs a double fisking

One of Britain's most outspoken Israel haters and apologists for all who oppose the Jewish state has written one of the weirdest pieces I have seen for a while.
It's so truly bizarre, especially when he starts bringing in the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, Poland etc (all in the name of opposing the EU's ban on people who actually would have had much in common with the original Nazis) that I'm going to ask anyone who can be bothered to do a proper "fisking" and send it in to the submissions at The Commentator, who will probably be delighted to consider it.

Cageprisoners, Rowntree Trust and “Jews did 9/11”.

The article is by Kevin Barrett, an American who runs Truth Jihad Radio, talks of “Zio-Nazis” (here, disgracefully with United Nations Human Rights rapporteur Richard Falk), and seems determined to prove that no Muslim perpetrated 9/11.
Barrett’s article comes from the website of Iranian state broadcaster Press TV, where you can find numerous grotesque antisemitic articles (ranging from Holocaust denial to Jews run global narcotics).

UN’s Falk Tries to Dissociate from “Zionazi” Epithet, Kevin Barrett

Falk expressly acknowledged reading this text — he called it “defamatory” — and it caused him to flip out and turn the opening of his annual UNHRC report into a rant crying for UN Watch to be shut down.
How can Falk possibly argue that he had no idea what Kevin Barrett represents? Will anyone hold him to account?

BBC tweaks Hizballah statement, promotes its conspiracy theories

Muir’s failure to present any balance to the Hizballah party line, his promotion of the conspiracy theory-based notion of the EU designation as being a “politically motivated” cave-in to a mysterious Israeli master plan and his resulting relativist whitewashing of Hizballah’s very long history of terror and crime is not only inaccurate and partial, but deliberate misinformation.
Regrettably, this is far from the first time that we have seen Jim Muir promoting the concept of “resistance”, whitewashing Hizballah’s violence, trivialising Hizballah’s role in the destabilisation of the region as a whole and gratuitously advancing the anti-Israel conspiracy theories of Hizballah and its supporters.

Indy’s Alistair Dawber refers to Palestinian terrorists as “Political Prisoners”

As we argued previously, to refer to violent Palestinian criminals and terrorists (many of whom committed cruel and sadistic crimes against innocent Israelis) as “political prisoners” represents an egregious corruption of the term – propaganda of terror apologists legitimized by those in the media ideologically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.

Muslim Anger over Virtual ‘Third Temple’

A Jewish website that aims to teach Israelis about the Temple has been met with an angry backlash from the Arab Muslim community.
The Har Hakodesh (lit. “The Holy Mountain”) website includes educational material about the history of the Temple Mount, which was the site of the First Temple and Second Temple. The Temples were the focus of divine service for the Jewish nation.

US appeals court: Americans born in Jerusalem not from ‘Israel’

The statement called the court decision “misguided,” and noted, “Federal government agencies have recognized in official documents and statements to the media that Jerusalem is in Israel. The State Department’s passport policy remains an isolated holdout, denying what is universally acknowledged, to the detriment of a right that a duly enacted law gives to American citizens

Which Nations Hate The U.S.? Often Those Receiving U.S. Aid

None of these examples suggest cause and effect. In other words, U.S. assistance may not cause countries to dislike the U.S. But in these cases we've noted, U.S. money certainly doesn't seem to help.
Also, the correlation between getting U.S. aid and disliking the U.S. is far from absolute. To cite just one counterexample, the leading recipient of U.S. aid is Israel, which gets more than $3 billion annually, and 83 percent of Israelis surveyed had a favorable view of the U.S., making it one of the most U.S.-friendly places on the globe.

Stand With Us The Newest Battlefront against Israel: Kangaroo Courts

BDS activists try to forestall opposition. They frequently delay putting resolutions on the agenda until the last minute to take opponents by surprise. Pro-Israel students, pre-occupied with college life, have little time to prepare a response. They can also feel overwhelmed by the lurid accusations and hostile atmosphere. At UC Berkeley, for example, one speaker claimed that IDF soldiers use rats to sexually violate Palestinian women. Outside the student senate, groups like Students for Justice in Palestine often demonstrate, chanting, “From the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea, Palestine will be free,” a clear call for wiping Israel off the map.

PA Arabs May Have to Go Hungry and Naked to Boycott Israel

With Fox’s entry into Ramallah, PA activists, the International Solidarity Movement’s paid protesters living in Judea and Samaria, and European Union officials are welcome to stand fast and back the boycott, do without Fox clothes and stick to a diet of Arab-made pita.
Fox, Rami Levi and Orgad are making mincemeat out of the idea of the PA ideology of an Arab apartheid state.

EU's Ashton Adds to 'Settlement' Discrimination

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is pushing for comprehensive guidelines to introduce separate labeling for products made by Jews in Judea and Samaria, Israeli-daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday.
According to the report. Ashton sent a letter to European commissioners urging them to draft the guidelines by the end of 2013.

Israeli Military Exports Reach Record High

According to figures released Tuesday by the Defense Ministry, Israel sold $7.473 billion in defense products last year.Brig.-Gen. (res) Shmaya Avieli, who heads the Defense Exports Directorate (SIBAT) warned at a news briefing that the country’s fiscal slump may also affect military sales.

Bionic contact lenses turn touch into vision

Much in the way Braille allows people who are blind to “see” the written word, a bionic contact lens invented by Israeli researcher Prof. Zeev Zalevsky “presses” images onto the surface of the eye to help the brain decipher through touch what the wearer is looking at.
The lens, still in a prototype stage, uses electrical signals sent to it from a small transponder, clipped to a pair of glasses or downloaded to a smartphone. A regular off-the-shelf camera, like the one inside a phone, “looks” at a crosswalk, items for sale in the grocery store, or at a loved one’s face, and transmits the encoded image via the lens to the wearer’s cornea. The image gets translated into a tactile sensation that can be interpreted visually.

Peace prize for Jewish and Muslim leaders of United Hatzalah

When Jerusalem resident Eli Beer implemented a neighborhood-based volunteer emergency response system to Israel in 2006, he wasn’t dreaming of prizes, only of saving lives.
But in recognition of the fact that United Hatzalah of Israel has brought together some 2,100 trained volunteers from every sector of Israeli society to respond to medical emergencies in Arab and Jewish neighborhoods without discrimination, Beer and Arab-Israeli United Hatzalah-East Jerusalem leader Murad Alyan were chosen to receive the 2013 Victor J. Goldberg IIE Prize for Peace in the Middle East from the New York-based Institute of International Education.

The Bethlehem Multidisciplinary Industrial Park is being built now and is due to open next month, with help from the IDF's COGAT:

Despite the fact that the park is located in Area "A", the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has been involved in advancing the project. The Civil Administration facilitated permitting for all BMIP's secondary projects which required infrastructure that would run through Area C in the West Bank.

"I feel that the Civil Administration showed understanding and gave the project its full support every step of the way", remarked Hervé CONAN, Director of the AFD in the West Bank, "when challenges arose which were already beyond my control, the relevant officers responded positively and were partners in finding solutions. I think that it is a common goal for all the parties - to stimulate a new spirit of creativity and ambitiousness in this region in particular and in the West Bank in general."

"We appreciate all the support and assistance received from the Civil Administration throughout the project", explained Dr. Hazboun. "The project has not reached completion, they shall continue to create additional factories and companies here and I hope that the cooperation between all of us shall continue and that next year at least four new factories shall start operating".

On the website of the BMIP it gives the steps needed for a foreign investor to start a business in Bethlehem.

Since they are soliciting foreign investment, what would happen if an Israeli wanted to invest in an existing company or start a new one - completely under the PA's rules?

I could see, for example, someone opening up a clothing factory for modest women's dresses, manufactured in Bethlehem, that might appeal to both religious Jews and Muslims in Israel and Europe. Would that be allowed? Or would it be considered a "settler" business and its exports banned or labeled in Europe?

What about if the investor isn't Israeli but a Zionist Jew?

I honestly don't know the answers. But whatever they are, they would reveal a lot about how mature the PA is, as well as whether the European rules on "settler" items are consistent.

Anyone want to try?

YNet reports:

On Saturday night, Israelis were among those who attended a British musician and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters’ concert in Belgium. Even as Waters is a known activist pushing for the boycott of Israel, Israelis were still amazed to see that the show included a blatantly anti-Semitic display.

Toward its end, a black balloon in the shape of a wild pig was released to the sky, on it a Star of David, in the company of symbols of dictatorial organizations and regimes from around the world.

“I came to the concert because I really like his music, without any connection to his political stance toward Israel,” says Alon Onfus Asif, an Israeli living in Belgium. “And I had a lot of fun, until I noticed the Star of David, on the inflatable pig. That was the only religious-national symbol which appeared among other symbols for fascism, dictatorships and oppression of people. Waters crossed the line and gave expression to an anti-Semitic message, beyond all his messages of anti-militancy.”

I found a video of a July 18th show (in the Netherlands) with the pig and the star:

UPDATE: Wikipedia has a history of Roger Waters' use of the pig (or warthog) balloon in concerts. It is clear that Waters uses the pig to push his political opinions of the moment; in the past he has written slogans like "Torture Shames Us All!", "Religions Divide", "Impeach Bush" and, during the 2008 elections, a checkmark next to "Obama."

7/24 Links Part 1: Paving the Way for a Third Intifada, A Majority of Israelis Back Peace

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: U.S. Paving The Way For Third Intifada

The last time Israel was blamed for the failure of the peace process was in the summer of 2000, when Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat rejected former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's offer at the botched Camp David summit.
Arafat returned to Ramallah to tell Palestinians that Israel does not want peace. A few weeks later the second intifada erupted, claiming the lives of thousands of Israeli and Palestinians.
The same scenario is likely to be repeated when and if Abbas walks out of the Kerry-sponsored peace talks -- an action meaning a third intifada might be on its way.
U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton's attempt at the time to force Arafat to make peace with Israel was what paved the way for the second intifada. Kerry, by forcing Abbas to agree to something that most Palestinians are not willing to accept, appears to be moving in the same direction.

Barry Rubin: Foreign Policy Farce: U.S. Conduct of Israel-Palestinian Peace Process

Has this happened before? Yes, in late 2010 when President Obama announced at the UN that the talks would soon restart at Camp David. Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed; the Palestinians refused. Is there a pattern here?
Does anyone notice that the Palestinians keep demanding more preconditions, Israeli concessions but never come to the table?
Why, if Palestinians are so eager and desperate to get a state do they not try to get one? Has anyone considered the non-logic of that claim?

Will more freed murderers bring peace?

This was a particularly cruel, gruesome and shocking act. Its iconic status is not surprising. Sbarro acquired fresh notoriety in 2011 when Tamimi, who had confessed to all charges and was convicted and sentenced to 16 life terms, walked free. Israel’s prime minister released her under pressure from Hamas to win the return of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. She was repatriated to her family in Jordan where she has lived since. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu inexplicably calls this gift an “exile.”

Majority of Israelis would back a peace deal, poll finds

A full 55 percent of Israelis are likely to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to submit a peace agreement with the Palestinians to a public referendum, according to a poll whose results were released Wednesday.
The Haaretz survey found that while 20% of Israelis were sure that they would vote against a peace deal, and 5% said they probably would vote against it, 39% said they would support in a referendum put forward by Netanyahu and a further 16% said they would probably support it. Another 20% said they were undecided on the issue.

Mortars Slam into Southern Israel

What at first seemed to be two rockets were later discovered to be two mortar shells that slammed into Israel’s southern region Wednesday morning, surprising residents who had no warning of the attack.

Top IDF Official Warns: Global Jihad is at Our Doorstep

"Syria, which is the most disturbing example, attracts thousands of global jihad activists and Muslim extremists from the region and around the world, who base themselves in the country, not only to bring down Assad, but to promote the vision of a state based on Islamic law," he added.
"Before our very eyes, at our doorstep, a large-scale center of the global jihad is developing, which may affect not only Syria and not just the borders of Israel, but Lebanon, Jordan, Sinai, and can radiate onto the entire region," warned Kochavi.

PMW: PA cleric: Eating during Ramadan is a capital crime

To back up his ruling, he cited a Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) that presents eating in public during the fast of Ramadan as a capital crime: "His blood becomes permitted [to be shed]." He called on PA police to "strike with an iron fist" and give "the heaviest punishments" to those who eat in public.

PMW: Song calls for attacking Israel, "the snake's head" - in PA TV documentary
Disgraced PA Official to Sue Abbas Over Alleged Corruption

Two years ago former senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Mohammed Dahlan made explosive accusations against Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, accusing him of having stolen $700 million from PA coffers.
Now, Dahlan is suing the PA Chairman for allegedly persecuting him following his exposure of PA corruption.

Qardawi reappears on Al Jazeera to incite Egyptians against their army

Qaradawi avoided mentioning names, but his words sounded like an explicit fatwa calling for the assassination of those who decided and carried out “the military coup” on ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
In his comments, Qaradawi referred to Quranic verses and sayings of the prophet (PBUH) that take on the question of obedience to the legitimate ruler.

Egypt: Military Leader Calls for Mass Rally as Violence Worsens

Egyptian military chief Abdel Fattahal al-Sisi has urged supporters to hold nationwide demonstrations on Friday, to grant him the mandate to confront "terrorism" in the country. Egypt has seen steadily increasing levels of violence following to ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi by the secular military leadership.
"Next Friday, all honourable Egyptians must take to the street to give me a mandate and command to end terrorism and violence," he declared wednesday, at a military graduation ceremony , according to Al Arabiya.

Muslim Brotherhood’s ‘Freedom and Justice Party’ Qalyub HQ Attacked With Molotov Cocktails, 6 Die in Clashes

In Cairo, Al-Ahram said Muslim Brotherhood supporters climbed the Giza bridge, cut off the road to Cairo University, blocking traffic in multiple directions, and set fire to a traffic kiosk, after clashes with police at the university left six dead and 33 injured. Nine people have been killed in political violence in the past two days.

Egypt Security Forces Ignored Slaying of Coptic Christians, Human Rights Group Says

A report by the human rights group Amnesty International blames Egyptian security forces for standing by idly and failing to intervene during an 18-hour-long attack on Coptic Christians on July 5 that left four dead and one man hospitalized.

Western-backed Syrian Rebels: E.U.’s partial blacklisting of Hezbollah A “Step in the Right Direction”

The SNC’s stance, which rejects the E.U.’s distinction between political and military Hezbollah officials, echos statements made by Hezbollah leaders and assessments issued by the American intelligence community.
Iran and Hezbollah both blasted the partial designation, with Hezbollah going so far as to threaten European interests.

Russian Terrorists Fight in Syria, Giving Moscow Olympics Headache

“Dagestan has become the epicenter of the Caucasus insurgency, with rebels mounting nearly daily attacks on police and other officials,” the AP reports. Calming this region before the Olympics is very important to President Putin, and it provides a rationale for his staunch support for the Assad regime in Syria. The Kremlin fears creeping Sunni radicalism; it fears terrorists from the Caucasus getting training, weapons, money, and support down south and then returning home to attack the Olympic Games. With UN officials warning that the Syria war could drag on for years, Moscow will have to hope the Russian jihadists stay there and don’t return.

NYT: Khamenei Speech Rejecting Comprehensive Talks “Threw Some Cold Water” on Hopes For Talks

The Times story outlining Iranian intransigence comes two days after the outlet published an editorial encouraging engagement with Iran and criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for skepticism regarding Iranian intentions:

Saudi but stateless: born on the margins of society

Born of tribal origin in Saudi Arabia, stateless people known as bidoons live on society's margins, unable even to register marriages or open a bank account because they lack identification cards.
"Our life is frozen, suspended. We don't have access to services or medical care," complained Abu Ibrahim, 50, as he sat on a floor covered with a modest carpet, an old air conditioner humming in the background.
"There is discrimination in this country," he said, pointing to the privileges available to Saudi citizens that the bidoons cannot enjoy.

Saudi court orders severing of defendant’s leg

A Saudi court has ordered the severing of a local man’s leg after he caused the amputation of the leg of another Saudi, when he shot him during an argument.
The court left the door open for a reversal of the verdict in case the defendant pays diya (blood money) to the victim, who is demanding SR1.5 million.

PLO official calls for Israel's destruction; says Israel wants to grab all Muslim lands

It's one story when PLO officials speak to Western diplomats and to the media.

But in Pakistan, their real feelings shine through:

Speakers at an international conference on Palestine said that Israel is an illegitimate state that must cease to exist and an independent sovereign state of Palestine must be established. International conference on "Palestine: Manifestation of Muslim Ummah's Unity" was held under the aegis of Palestine Foundation of Pakistan at Radio Pakistan auditorium here recently.

The photo on the lectern is Ayatollah Khomeini.

Mohammad Zazeh, a leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), speaking at the conference said that the post-Gulf War II situation compelled them to reach Oslo Accord but that should not be misunderstood because the PLO never considered Israel as a legitimate state. "Israel is an illegitimate state. Palestine belongs to Palestinians. An independent state of Palestine is what the Palestinians will get recognised," he said.

He said that Israel is a Zionist project that is aimed at grabbing the Muslim land from Morocco to Pakistan therefore all Muslims have to remain vigilant and foil the nefarious designs of Zionist enemy.

"Palestine and al Quds belong to all Arabs and Muslims. This is sacred land. Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) had gone to Meraj from this holy place therefore that sacred place should be liberated from the Zionists," he vowed.

Of course, Zazeh was only one voice of the chorus of crazy:

Pakistan Peoples Party Sindh's secretary general Taj Haider said that Israel has never been existed [sic] in the history of the world. He said that it is an illegitimate state imposed in the heart of Islam by the global imperialist powers.

Allama Aijaz Behishti, central leader of Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, cited that great revolutionary leader Imam Khomeini declared Palestine an integral part of Islam. He emphasised on three points that awakening of thoughts, establishment of funds and united efforts of the Ummah are much needed to liberate Palestine from the yoke of Zionist Israelis.

No doubt this speech will cause great embarrassment to Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the PLO, for contradicting the *real* PLO position accepting a two-state solution. Zazeh will probably be reprimanded, and sacked, for lying about the official Palestinian Arab position. How can any government tolerate a diplomat going rogue like that?

Unless, of course, this is the real position of the PLO and the other stuff is carefully calibrated to fool the West. But that couldn't possibly be true, right?

We'll know soon enough, if Zazeh is fired.

Anyone taking bets?

More proof that Khirbet Qeiyafa was part of Judea, not Canaan

On Monday I discussed the new archaeological findings that indicated a palace that could have belonged to King David in Khirbet Qeiyafa. Some articles expressed skepticism, saying that it could have been from some other kingdom.

The archaeologist, Yossi Garfinkel, describes six proofs that indicate that this is Judean:

The urban planning of the city mimics that of other undoubtedly Judean cities, like Beit Shemesh and Beersheva.
As I mentioned, it clearly wasn't Philistine because no pig bones were found, and 20% of bones at Philistine sites are pig bones.
Most of the metal tools found were made of iron. Canaanite tools were bronze.
Religious relics were found, but none of them depicted human figures, in line with Jewish law. Canaanite and other kingdoms in the area would depict goddesses and other human figures.
Circular depressions in the jar handles are uniquely Judean and is a hallmark of Jewish pottery for hundreds of years afterwards.
Writings found there indicate Hebrew, the earliest known Hebrew writing so far.

Unique features of the palace include double walls, indicating multiple stories; a location in the center of the town with a great view, and a size of 1000 square meters, dwarfing all the other houses in the city.

What this all proves is that around 1000 BCE thee was a centralized kingdom of Judah with the ability to build fortified cities, collect taxes and manage long-term trade relations with places like Cyprus and Egypt.

The article also goes into the disagreements between archaeologists on how much to believe Biblical accounts when deciding on the importance of a find. It is a nice piece; I hope that it gets translated.

(h/t Yoel)

Hamas paranoia hits a new peak

On Monday I reported that the deputy head of the "political bureau" of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzouk, was accusing Egypt of wanting to exercise sovereignty over the Gaza Strip as it had before 1967. His evidence was the increase in helicopter flights from the Egyptian army over Gaza.

That theory was nutty enough, but now Hamas spokesman Dr. Salah Bardawil has run with it and really turned on the crazy.

According to Bardawil, the Egyptian helicopters are not coming from Egypt, as initial reports indicated, but from Israel. This means, he thinks, that the helicopters are being inspected in Israel first and Egypt is cooperating with Israel in this enterprise of Egyptian surveillance. Why Israel, with its drones and blimps and airplanes, needs Egyptian help is not quite explained.

But Bardawil, like all good Arab despots and their officials, spins a conspiracy theory that goes beyond Israel and Egypt.

You see, John Kerry announced the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the PLO in...Jordan! This means that the US and Israel are pushing both Egypt and Jordan to re-occupy Gaza and the West Bank, respectively! The PLO, Hamas' enemy, is of course part of this scheme as well. Bardawil characterizes Abbas' agreement to (pretend to) negotiate is "national suicide."

Hamas' paranoia comes, of course, from Egypt's decision to treat it virtually as an enemy - one that both kills Egyptian Army soldiers and one that steals scarce fuel from Egypt. Without Muslim Brotherhood patronage, Hamas is lost, and its seeming ascendancy on the back of the Arab Spring has evaporated.

Yesterday, both Israeli and Egyptian helicopters were reported to be seen in Gaza skies. Chances are that there is a low level of security coordination between Israel and Egypt as far as activities in the Sinai and in destroying smuggling tunnels is concerned, as the Camp David agreements require Israeli permission for any increase in Egyptian army presence in the Sinai - permission that Israel has been liberal in granting, to allow the Egyptian army to fight the Islamists and jihadists in the Sinai and to protect its border with Gaza.

Bardawil's paranoid fantasies clearly reflect Hamas' mindset and its fear of losing its grip on power. It sees things like the Palestinian "Tamarod" Facebook page, with nearly 20,000 members. Today, it even accused Fatah of being behind that movement, when it is obvious that Tamarod Palestine hates Fatah and Hamas equally.

As with the revolution beforehand, the new Egyptian coup affects the entire region. However, it is way too early to count the Islamists out. There is no strong, well-organized and popular alternative; slogans against the Islamists is not enough to hold any nation together. So while Hamas and the MB are down, they are hardly out.

Report: Syria gassed Palestinian Arabs in Yarmouk, killing 22. "Pro-Palestinian" groups silent.

From JPost:

Syrian opposition activists say that the military has used chemical weapons against the Al Yarmouk district of Damascus, an area of the city comprised predominantly of Palestinian refugees, Israel Radio reported.

Palestinian sources said that 22 people have been killed in the area, most from inhalation of poisonous gases.

The Syrian Coalition press release says:

According to video footage uploaded by activists inside the capital of Damascus, Assad’s forces are using chemical and toxic gas bombs to shell the Yarmouk Palestinian Camp. The strategic, systematic use of chemical weapons in order to achieve military gains only proves the desperate state that Assad’s regime has reached.

Arabic media also indicates 22 victims.

Here is a news report that supposedly shows victims of the attacks:

As usual, the "pro-Palestinian" crowd is utterly silent about this potential war crime against the people they pretend to love. Use the phrase "white phosphorus" and they are up in arms, but actual poison gas doesn't cause a ripple in their moral compasses.

Because their concern isn't for the victims, but in the religion of the attackers.

Lawfare Project letter to the EU

This is a letter that the Lawfare Project is planning to send to the EU; they are looking for lawyers to sign it before sending.

H.E. Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs

Excellency

Re: EU directive regarding Israeli settlements

We, the undersigned, attorneys from across the world who are involved in international law issues as well as being closely concerned with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, respectfully call upon you and the EU to revoke the abovementioned directive which we feel is based on legally flawed and incorrect assumptions regarding both the legality of Israel's settlements and the status of the pre-1967 Armistice lines as Israel's border.

Furthermore, the reasoning behind the directive summarily ignores the historic and legal rights of Israel and the Jewish people in and to the areas of Judea and Samaria, including the internationally acknowledged rights of the Jewish people as the indigenous people of the area.

The long-held view of the EU as to the illegality of Israel's settlements is a misreading of the relevant provisions of international law, and specifically Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which is neither relevant to the unique circumstances of Israel's status in the area, nor was it ever applicable, or intended to apply to Israel's circumstances in Judea and Samaria.

The EU together with other international bodies has consistently ignored authoritative sources, including the 1958 official commentary by International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the published opinions of prominent international jurists, all of which explain the provenance of Article 49 in the need to address deportations, forced migration, evacuation, displacement, and expulsion of over 40 million people by the Nazis during the Second World War. This has no relevance to Israel's settlements in Judea and Samaria.

The EU totally ignores the very agreement to which it is signatory as witness, the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, in which it was agreed by the parties, pending a permanent status agreement, to exercise powers and authority in the areas under their respective control. Such powers include planning, zoning and construction. The issues of settlements and Jerusalem, as agreed upon between the parties, are negotiating issues, and hence, determinations by the EU undermine the negotiating process and run against the EU's status as signatory.

The legality of Israel's presence in the area stems from the historic, indigenous and legal rights of the Jewish people to settle in the area, as granted in valid and binding international legal instruments recognized and accepted by the international community. These rights cannot be denied or placed in question. This includes the 1922 San Remo Declaration unanimously adopted by the League of Nations, affirming the establishment of a national home for the Jewish People in the historical area of the Land of Israel (including the areas of Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem) as well as close Jewish settlement throughout. This was subsequently affirmed internationally in the League of Nations Mandate Instrument, and accorded continued validity, up to the present day, by Article 80 of the UN Charter which reaffirmed the validity of the rights granted to all states or peoples, or already existing international instruments (including those adopted by the League of Nations).

The inference regarding Israel's borders as recognized by the EU is no less misguided and historically and legally wrong. The pre-1967 Armistice lines (so-called "green" line) were never considered to be borders. UN Security Council resolution 242 (1967), endorsed by the European members of the Council, called for "secure and recognized boundaries" to replace the pre-1967 Armistice lines. The European leaders further endorsed this principle in their 1980 Venice Declaration. By its persistence in referring to the pre-1967 lines, the EU is undermining future negotiation on this issue by predetermining its outcome.

In a similar vein, the repeated use by the EU of the term "occupied Arab" or "Palestinian territories" to refer to the area of Judea and Samaria, has no basis in law or fact. The area has never been determined as such, and thus the continued EU usage of the term runs against the very concept of negotiations to resolve the dispute regarding these areas, supported by the EU, to determine their permanent status.

Excellency,

The position taken by the EU and the action presently being taken pursuant to its directive, regarding Israel's settlements in Judea and Samaria, is, in our view, incompatible with the EU's standing as a member of the international Quartet, and serves to neutralize any pretentions it might have to serve a useful function in the negotiating process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Frankly, the EU cannot, in all sincerity, presume to come with clean hands and claim to be an impartial element in the negotiating process. The EU has taken sides and as such, in its actions against Israel, it is undermining the negotiating process.

The position and actions of the EU against Israel are all the more unfortunate and regrettable in light of the tragic Jewish history in Europe, which cannot be ignored or forgotten. One might have expected that realization of this factor would guide the wisdom and logic of the actions of the EU.

(h/t Irene)

At dawn today, the gas pipeline from Egypt to Jordan was bombed, for the second time this month.

Unidentified gunmen riding in a four-wheel drive car bombed the pipeline that carries natural gas from Egypt to Jordan in the Kharouba" area, east of El Arish.

While the Egyptian police arrested a Gaza man for the last explosion, the incentive to blow up these lines is unclear.

In possibly related news, ever since the Egyptian coup, the energy crisis in Egypt has apparently, temporarily, disappeared. Gas lines are gone and electricity shortages have been vastly reduced. Cooler temperatures may be responsible for less pressure on the electrical grid, and many are saying that the crackdown on illegal smuggling of diesel and petrol to Gaza is helping the situation in Egypt.

It could also be that people are not hoarding as much as they were before the revolution.

7/23 Links Part 2: Brendan O'Neill on Leftist Anti-Zionists, Guardian's Rock n Roll Fantasy, Israel's Bird Superhighway

From Ian:

Brendan O'Neill: Anti-Zionists claim to be completely different to anti- Semites. But there's one key thing they have in common

I think the line between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism is getting thinner all the time. These two worldviews are, if obviously not the exact same thing, then at least very close cousins. There is one inescapable thing that they share in common: a tendency to trace all global problems and instabilities back to the behaviour and beliefs of a Jewish thing, whether the Jewish people or the Jewish State. Modern-day anti-Zionism, particularly as practised by left-leaning, trendy Europeans, among whom it is highly fashionable, is the heir to old-style anti-Semitism in one very important way: it has a scary habit of treating Jewish stuff or Jewish people as the source of the world’s ills.

Dore Gold: The U.S. and the Muslim Brotherhood

The perception in the Middle East that the U.S. had been sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood may be overstated, but it is not entirely without foundation. A school of thought in Washington exists that truly believes that the Muslim Brotherhood has evolved into a moderate organization, with which the West can do business. It has been influencing policymaking since the second term of the Bush administration. But it is too early to establish whether the overthrow of Morsi will lead to the demise of this dangerously naive political theory or whether it will resurface in one of the other Arab states facing internal revolts as part of the Arab Spring.

An ‘outspoken and blunt’ Samantha Power: Boon or curse?

Power has reiterated her pro-Israel position, arguing that despite the UN’s many accomplishments, “within the UN, an organization built in part to apply the lessons of the Holocaust, we also see unacceptable attacks against the state of Israel.” She added that “the United States has no greater friend in the world than the state of Israel. We share security interests, we share core values, and we have a special relationship with Israel. And yet the General Assembly and Human Rights Council continue to pass one-sided resolutions condemning Israel…. Israel’s legitimacy should be beyond dispute, and its security must be beyond doubt.”
Power’s supporters emphasize that as Obama’s adviser on UN affairs, she was the final call against American participation in the Israel-bashing 2009 UN Durban Review Conference and that she worked together with outgoing UN Ambassador Susan Rice to combat anti-Israel bias in the world governing body.

CiF Watch prompts correction to ‘Comment is Free’ claim on Gaza rocket attacks

As we noted in our original post, however, while during the first 24 hours of the war roughly 100 rockets were fired into Israel, during the entire eight-day conflict, which ended on Nov. 22, Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups launched approximately 1,500 rockets at Israel.

Guardian rock ‘n roll fantasy: Paper blurs identity of Palestinians and Arab Israelis

Further passages in the story finally confirm what the above text implies – that the band, Khalas, is made up of Arab citizens of Israel (from Acre) not, as the title and most of the text suggests, Palestinians living in the Palestinian territories who don’t have Israeli citizenship. Whilst some activists do use the term “Palestinian citizens of Israel’ instead of ‘Arab Israelis’ to refer to Israelis who are ethnically and linguistically Arab (but full citizens of the state), the average reader looking at the headline and accompanying text wouldn’t likely understand this distinction.
Moreover, as anyone who lives in Israel, or has spent any serious time here, would surely know, Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel mix and mingle in nearly every area of public and private life, and whilst the notion of Arab and Jewish (Israeli) bands going on tour together certainly is a nice symbol, it’s hardly groundbreaking.

ADL: Anti-Semitism down nationwide, up in NY and NJ

The ADL recorded 248 anti-Semitic incidents in New York in 2012, representing a 27 percent increase from the 195 incidents in 2011. New York City’s five boroughs had a total of 172 anti-Jewish acts, including incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism, compared to 127 in 2011.
“While the great majority of Jewish New Yorkers feel comfortable and safe in their respective communities, it is nevertheless disturbing that we saw almost a 30 percent uptick in the total number of anti-Semitic incidents across the state,” said Etzion Neuer, ADL’s acting New York regional director. “Though we did see a decrease in harassment and threats, the sharp increase of anti-Semitic vandalism incidents is a reminder that we are still not immune to anti-Semitism.”

As requested more terrible BDS singing and dancing
Daphne Anson: BDSers' Foolish Moves In Boston
"I laughed so hard I awoke my neighbors. Thank you for sharing your stupidity to the world."

Israeli fashion hits West Bank

The Ramallah branch would be Fox’s first in a Palestinian city.
Although initial responses to the opening of the store among local Palestinians were mainly positive, some Palestinian activists have voiced extreme disdain for the act, accusing store owners, as well as Palestinian Authority leaders, of attempting to “normalize” the situation in the West Bank.

Israeli Firm Reveals New Arsenal in Battle for Cyber Security

Israeli firm Comsec, which specializes in consulting on information security, has unveiled two new tools it developed for providing responses to growing cyber-threats: the ComSimulator, which makes it possible to actively rehearse various degrees of cyber attacks; and the Cyber Intelligence Hub, an intelligence center that provides information collection and analysis services enabling proactive security for organizations.

'Facebook for Every Phone', the feature phone app, now has 100 million users

The Facebook for Every Phone application is powered by technology developed by Snaptu, an Israel-based mobile platform co-founded by Makavy in 2007. Facebook had acquired Snaptu in 2011 and the platform has been used ever since to ensure the social networking website is accessible to low-end devices as well.

Struggling To Preserve an Iranian Jewish Language Before It Goes Extinct

Isaac Yousefzadeh is in mourning for his mother, who passed away a few weeks ago. But with her death comes a second, more subtle loss—that of her language, Judeo-Kashani, which is now on the verge of extinction. “It’s like somebody is sick in bed and in another few days or years he will die,” he said. “That’s it.”
The language’s speakers trace their roots to Kashan, a city in central Iran where Judeo-Kashani had been spoken for centuries. But in the past several decades, the Jews of Kashan have scattered—first to Tehran, and later around the world—and their descendants have adopted different languages. Virtually the only speakers left are a handful of Jews from Yousefzadeh’s generation who were born in Kashan, a city that no longer has any Jewish residents. They are the end of the linguistic line. “It’s a language that each day, the number of people that know it is less and less,” said Yousefzadeh. “In 20 years, I’d say no one would speak it. Because they’re dying each day.”

It’s all about the birds in Israel

Birding in Israel is serious business. With more than one billion feathered friends flying over Israel during spring and autumn, and an amazing variety of resident bird species, the country is one of the world’s best places for bird-watching all year long.
“Israel sits on the junction of three continents,” Prof. Yossi Leshem, director of Israel’s International Center for the Study of Bird Migration (ICSBM), tells ISRAEL21c. “Politically, it’s a disaster, but for bird migration, it’s heaven. We have a huge bird bottleneck — it’s a superhighway.”

The Animals' New Single

From TOI:

Eric Burdon, former lead singer of ’60s British band The Animals, on Tuesday cancelled an August 1 concert in Israel, because he had been receiving daily threatening emails, his manager said.

Burdon, whose band’s decades-spinning career including hits such as “The House of the Rising Sun,” “We Gotta Get out of This Place,” “It’s My Life,” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” was to have performed alongside Israeli legends Tislam at the Zappa Shuni Amphitheater in Binyamina. Tickets were already on sale.

Days ago, Burdon met up with members of Tislam in Vienna, and told them he was under pressure from anti-Israel activists to cancel the show. At that time, though, he seemed set on going ahead with the concert, telling the Israeli musicians, “Everyone needs music and there’s no connection to current politics. Everyone has the right to be entertained.”

But his manager later wrote to Tislam to state that the show was off. “We are under increasing pressure, including many threatening emails that we are receiving on a daily basis. I wouldn’t want to put Eric in any danger,” his manager wrote, in comments released by Tislam on Tuesday.

Hizballah reacts to being labeled "terrorist" by acting like - terrorists

From Hizballah's Al Manar (English):

Hezbollah expressed in a statement issued Monday evening firm rejection of the European Union’s decision to put its military wing on the list of terrorism, and considered it as “aggressive, unjust decision written with Zionist ink.”

Hezbollah saw in the EU bowing to pressures of the US administration and the Zionist entity as a serious turnover in its compliance to the White House dictates. “It looks as if the decision was written by American hands with Zionist ink and the EU had only to put its seal for approval,” Hezbollah’s statement said.

“If the EU countries think they are booking its locations in our Arab and Islamic countries by submitting to the logic of U.S. blackmailing, we assure them that Washington had made similar decision and gained only further failures and disappointments,” the statement ended up saying.

Hmmm...what do you think they are talking about, as far as the US getting physically involved in the region and then suffering "failures and disappointements"?

It sounds to me like Hizballah is bragging about the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 that killed 300 people.

So peaceful!

In its Arabic site, Hizballah reports on statements from many of its Lebanese allies complaining about the EU decision. The Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party (of Lebanon!) states that the EU decision "is a behavior that encourages terrorism against free peoples," and called on "the sons of our people to further rally around the resistance and its weapons as the only option available to our people for liberation and the splendor and dignity."

MP Michel Aoun took a different tack - essentially admitting Hezbollah terrorism and justifying it. He said "the EU decision is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, which provides for the right of peoples to liberate its land occupied by all means available." He added "all the peoples of Europe had practiced at some point resistance to liberate their lands from occupation," essentially equating Hizballah terrorism to, say, World War II.

Suggested label for products of Judea and Samaria

TOI reports:

The European Union is seeking to formulate guidelines for the labeling of products manufactured in Jewish West Bank settlements by the end of 2013, according to documentation published Tuesday.

A July 8 letter sent by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to high-ranking European commissioners says that member states must adopt standardized guidelines and regulations for labeling settlement products, Haaretz reported.

Well, they should not object if the companies in the territories are pro-active in labeling their products, would they?

Here's one possible label:

Seems accurate to me.

7/23 Links Part 1: Douglas Murray on the EU, Ending the ‘Israel-is-to-Blame’ Game, UNRWA's 'Camp Jihad'

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: "Occupied Territories": What About Cyprus, Kashmir, Tibet?

The EU does not only have a wrong-headed view of Israel's past, it has a wholly misguided view of its future.
Today Israel is at the very bottom of the list of countries of concern, even in its own neighborhood, let alone the wider world, with nearly 100,000 dead in Syria and Egypt going through a counter-counter revolution, and with the Sunni-Shiite conflict looking likely to reach one of its intermittent boiling points as the Shiite armies of Hezbollah clash with the Sunni-armed opposition in Syria. Amid all this, the issue of where Jews should or should not live inside their historical homeland is a matter of the lowest international import.
Yet the EU -- which always likes to think of itself as such a forward-looking organization -- is once again showing itself to be stuck in a wrong-headed and bigoted past. It is not Israel which is the problem in the Middle East. Today Israel is, in fact, about the only non-problem in the region.
Yet it is this country's sovereignty upon which the EU decides time and time again that it can intrude. This latest decision tells us nothing about Israel or the West Bank. But it tells us what we need to know about the EU.

Hawks, Doves – and Ostriches

High-level poseurs, like European Union (EU) representatives, like group pictures with world leaders. Their book of achievements is never more than a picture portfolio. “We call on all sides to show restraint,” is the caption on the photo of the ostrich at the White House , the EU or the State Department preaching to the rapists and those they raped, telling Iranian protesters not to offend the ayatollahs, urging Egyptians not to insult Muslim Brothers, and bloodied Syrians not to be mean to Uncle Bashar.

US: Palestinians agreed to talks; Indyk reports premature

The State Department confirmed on Monday that the Palestinians agreed to participate in new peace talks with Israel, dismissing comments to the contrary made over the weekend by spokesmen for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki also dispelled weekend rumors that veteran diplomat Martin Indyk had already been tapped to lead the new negotiations. Psaki said that Secretary of State John Kerry is still “putting together the right combination of players,” but denied that any decision on negotiators or envoys has been made.

Expert: The Chances of Peace Are Zero

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Professor Diskin, a professor at the Political Science Department of the Hebrew University, said that the reason that talks are doomed to fail is because the PA does not wish to reach an agreement. Already now, several days after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the resumption of talks, one can see that the PA is doubtful about starting negotiations, he said, citing as proof the PA’s demand that preliminary talks be held in Washington before any negotiations.
Noting the peace agreement signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979, Professor Diskin said that in this case, both sides held serious negotiations and it was clear that both sides had the intention of reaching an agreement. The PA Arabs, however, display the opposite behavior, he added.

Ben Cohen: Kerry Must End the ‘Israel-is-to-Blame’ Game

Herein lies the risk of renewed peace talks: The Palestinians derail them, much as they did with previous attempts launched by the Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations, and the Israelis get the blame.
That’s why John Kerry should be making it clear to the Europeans that the U.S. will not tolerate any EU punitive measures against Israel, should the talks collapse. And he should also make clear that final borders would be addressed at any negotiations, not in advance of them. Frankly, given the warm welcome Israel has given his peace initiative, it’s the least he can do.

PA President Abbas: ‘Jewish State Has the Right to Preserve its Security Within its Borders’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared Monday that in any future peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the Jewish State must leave “Palestinian land,” while conceding that “the Jewish state has the right to preserve its security within its borders,” in comments made three days after it was announced that direct negotiations would resume between the two sides.

Abbas Admits Palestinians Are Actually Jordanians

You see, the two state solution in Abbas’ eyes are two Arab states, one for the Palestinians in Jordan, and one for the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.
Perhaps we should ask him what about the third Palestinian state in the Gaza strip…

Two States? Not at "Camp Jihad"

As Israel and the Palestinian Authority prepare to renew their negotiations for “peace” under U.S. mediation, a short but powerful documentary about UNRWA children's camps shows just what kind of "solution" the Palestinian Authority and many of its citizens have in mind.
The film is made up almost exclusively of interviews with children and instructors at UNRWA camps.
In one part, campers are encouraged to chant:
"With God's help and our own strength we will wage war. And with education and jihad we will return!"

E.U. Blacklists Hezbollah “Military Wing”, Calls Attention to Debates Over Whether Different Hezbollah “Wings” Exist

U.S. counterterrorism specialists and the U.S. intelligence community have analyzed Hezbollah’s organizational structure and concluded that Hezbollah leaders are telling the truth when they deny that there are meaningful distinctions between the various parts of the organization:

Schwarzenegger - Israel's 'Hero' on Austrian Hizbullah Vote

One of the unsung heroes of the effort to put Hizbullah's “military wing” on a European Union blacklist was none other than former Hollywood actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In a letter, Schwarzenegger convinced Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann to instruct the country's Foreign Minister to cast Austria's vote for the blacklist proposal, something that neither Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu nor President Shimon Peres were able to do.

Congress Okays Initial Arms Shipments to Syria Rebels

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the U.S. will use money already in the CIA’s budget and transfer it to operations in Syria, as part of a plan announced last month by the Obama Administration. The plan involves the providing of small arms and ammunition to some of the 1,200 groups of Syrian rebels, some of which have known affiliations with al Qaeda.

Head of Syrian Jihadists: We Support an Islamic Caliphate

In an audio recorded that has been disseminated over the past several days, Abu Mohammad al-Julani stresses that he strongly opposes parliamentary elections or any political settlement in the country which would be achieved through international intervention.

Four Syrians Hospitalized in Tzfat

Four Syrians including an eight-year-old girl were brought to a hospital in Israel after they were wounded by fighting in the war-torn country, a medical source said on Tuesday.
"Yesterday night an injured eight-year-old girl and her 48-year-old mother were treated for fractures to their arms and legs from shrapnel," said a spokesman for Ziv hospital in Tzfat, north of the Sea of Galilee.

Report: Assad asked Israel not to stand in the way of Alawite enclave

According to a report in The Guardian on Monday, Syrian President Bashar Assad sent a message to Avigdor Lieberman in 2012, when the latter was serving as foreign minister, asking Israel's position on the establishment of an Alawite enclave in northwestern Syria.
The Guardian reported that a mediator -- a well-known diplomatic figure -- is understood to have been asked by Assad to approach Lieberman late last year with a request that Israel not stand in the way of attempts to form an Alawite state, which could have meant moving some displaced communities into the Golan Heights area.

Top US brass: Syria no-fly zone would cost $1b. a month

Establishing a no-fly zone to protect Syrian rebels would require hundreds of US aircraft at a cost of more than $1 billion per month, with no assurance that it would change the momentum in the civil war there, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.

Russia Affirms Commitment to Delivering S-300 Missile System to Syria

Russia is still committed to delivering the S-300 advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Syria, despite Western objections, and is also considering extending a loan to the war-torn country, Al Arabiya reported Monday.

Congress, Obama at odds over new Iran sanctions

Congress is considering a new series of hard-hitting Iran sanctions on everything from mining and construction to the Islamic republic’s already besieged oil industry, despite concern from the Obama administration that the measures could interfere with nuclear negotiations.
House and Senate bills are both advancing at a time President Barack Obama’s national security team is gauging whether Iranian President-elect Hasan Rouhani is serious about halting some elements of Tehran’s uranium enrichment activity. Those involved in the process said the administration wants to temper Congressional plans until Rouhani takes office in August and has an opportunity to demonstrate whether his government will offer concessions.