Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, August 02, 2013

Jordan treats Palestinian Syrian refugees "worse than dogs"

Cyber City is an unusual camp beside a desolate crossroads outside Irbid, in northern Jordan. Hidden behind a wall and some pine trees, a dreary six-floor block looks out over rusting machinery and a dry plain. Formerly for migrant workers, it now hosts around 500 refugees from Syria.

After passing security checks I bump into Abu Alaa, a dignified 60-year-old refugee whose two sons are missing in Syria. “No news still,” he sighs, holding my hand warmly. “I was just calling again.” His phone shows repeated unanswered calls to numbers back home. He says his two grown-up sons had tried following him into Jordan but were refused entry due to their Palestinian origin. On separate occasions over the coming months, each appears to have been detained by the Syrian security forces and Abu Alaa fears they may not be alive.

Palestinians have been heavily affected by the violence in Syria. Almost half of the 500,000 or so Palestinian refugees in Syria have been displaced. Refugee camps and other areas in which they live, including Dera’a Camp, and Yarmouk and Sayida Zaynab in Damascus, have witnessed heavy fighting. Some 6,000 residents were forced out of Ein al-Tal Camp in Aleppo in April 2013. Sbeineh Camp in Damascus was reportedly hit by a ground-to-ground missile in May 2013, killing at least five people. Two children and two women were among at least five others killed by mortar shells fired into Khan Eshieh Camp near Damascus in June 2013.

Yet Abu Alaa’s sons are among hundreds if not thousands of Palestinian refugees fleeing the violence in Syria who are believed to have been turned away at the Jordanian border, in violation of international law. While Jordan is hosting around half a million people from Syria, it is generally not allowing access to Palestinian or Iraqi refugees...

Of some 7,000 or more Palestinians who did manage to enter Jordan, either before the country denied all access to them early last year or as a result of using false documents, some were later forced back to the border, also in violation of international law.

Bilal, who entered Jordan ahead of other family members, tells me his father and brothers were detained in Amman and escorted to the border in December 2012. “One night my elder brother rang and told me they had been taken there at gunpoint. My younger brother had been pulled by his hair and forced into the security vehicle that took them there. They waited three days just 100 metres beyond the Jordan border post, with fighting nearby, hoping to be allowed back, until my elder brother was injured and they realized the only option was to seek aid inside Syria.”

A worse fate befell Mahmud Merjan, who Cyber City residents say was killed on a Syrian street in late 2012, three weeks after being forced to sign a “voluntary” paper that he would go back to Syria. “It wasn’t an arbitrary killing,” says one man who knew him well. “He was known and wanted by the regime.”

All those in Cyber City have fled from Syria. But while the Palestinians from Syria used to be the majority, I am told, their numbers have dwindled as many got fed up with conditions and returned to the conflict zone. “I prefer to go back and die in Syria with some dignity rather than live without it here,” many say.

Complaints about the conditions here are many. Palestinians are not officially permitted to leave Cyber City. Now and again informal permission is granted to visit relatives in Irbid and Amman and so on, but mostly they are confined to the building and the immediate vicinity. Such conditions amount to arbitrary detention. “I’m sorry, but a dog can come and go more easily than we can,” says a very frustrated Ali, who has been here for more than a year.

The closed border to Palestinians and the arbitrary detention of Palestinians is further dividing families, whose identities reflect decades of turmoil and flight. Sena, a Syrian woman, is here with her children while her Palestinian husband is unable to enter Jordan. Ziad is in Cyber City while his Syrian wife and children are in a Jordanian town. Elderly Abu Khaled has to stay here while family members holding Jordanian nationality do not.

While Syrians and Palestinians from Syria appreciate being in safety in Jordan, they struggle to make ends meet. Individuals are entitled to a monthly coupon worth 24 Jordanian dinars (about US$34) which they exchange for food in a small shop next to Cyber City. This works out as a mere 0.80 dinars per day, it is repeatedly pointed out. A 160g tin of tuna on the shop’s shelves costs more than that.

“It is 100 per cent worse for Palestinians here than for the Syrians,” says Ziad. “One, they are allowed to leave this place while we are not and, two, when they go out they can visit charitable organizations, show their UN refugee agency card” – which Palestinians do not have as they fall under the mandate of [the UN Relief and Works Agency] instead, although they should receive the same services – “and collect further relief.”

“Every day here is the same,” Bilal continues. “Eat, sleep, eat, sleep.” With others, he counts off the names of families who have decided to risk their lives to go back into Syria. “Yes, this is what the Jordanian government wants, for us to go back. But what is the alternative? We live without purpose here. This is not life.”

A friend of the deceased Mahmud Merjan summed up the despair: “It was one of our life’s dreams to visit Jordan, but we came and encountered such hate. Let’s hope there are no more refugee camps for Palestinians in heaven.”

Even Lebanon, which has anti-Palestinian laws and severe restrictions on what Palestinians are allowed to do, allows refugees from Syria of Palestinian ancestry to go to overcrowded UNRWA camps there to get services. Jordan isn't even allowing that, preferring to send them to their possible deaths in Syria.

Here we have systemic and institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians by their fellow Arabs, far worse than anything Israel does, and the world media is silent. I cannot find a single English language media outlet to report this story from Amnesty even though it was published on Monday.

Just yesterday, five more Palestinians in Syria were killed, including two children. The media silence is deafening.

Similarly, so-called "pro-Palestinian" groups say nothing.

The reason is because so-called "pro-Palestinian activists" who are brilliant at getting press coverage for anti-Israel stunts don't really give a damn about real Palestinians - when their suffering cannot be blamed on Israel. The media similarly doesn't consider Arab hate for Palestinians to be newsworthy.

The double standards applied to Israel are crystal clear.

From L'Observatour, translated at Point of No Return:

Casablanca-born Rabbi Amar received the Ouissam Alaoui 'exceptional class' award from King Mohammed Vl as Palestinian and Israeli neogtiators sat down in Washington to resume peace talks.

In an interview with L'Observateur du Maroc, the rabbi said he was immensely moved and happy. "It's a great day for me, and a great day for the Moroccan-Jewish world, which like me remains deeply connected to Morocco. I am also happy to see that his Majesty the king is wisely leading his country in the best possible way.

"It is G-d's will that I should have received this honour from the hands of King Mohammed on the day that Israel and Palestine should resume their dialogue for peace. This is a process which his Majesty has never ceased to call for, as one who is deeply attached to the values of peace and brotherhood between peoples and religions. I see a message in this...Like the King we wish with all our heart that peace should reign not just between Israelis and Palestinians but throughout the world."

Shlomo Amar will be succeeded as Sephardi chief Rabbi of Israel by Yitzhak Yosef, who won last week's rabbinical elections.

This was covered in Arabic media as well, which reported that Rabbi Amar met with the king in Tangier ten years ago and had always wanted to return to visit his original hometown in Casablanca.

So far I have not found any negative coverage about an Arab king honoring a Zionist Jew.

(h/t Norman)

#BDSFail-ures admit they will claim victory even if it isn't true

I had missed this story two weeks ago at the BDSMovement site:

Victory! US pension fund giant TIAA-CREF drops SodaStream stock

Pension fund giant TIAA-CREF has removed the increasingly controversial Israeli company SodaStream (NASD: SODA) from its portfolio. As of March 2013, financial data posted on TIAA-CREF’s website valued shares in SodaStream at $9,444,292. According to financial data available today, it is zero.

But did TIAA-CREF say they sold the stock because they intend to divest? Of course not. There could be many reasons for them to sell.

Even the BDSers are tacitly admitting that they will claim victory no matter the reality:

“No matter the reason TIAA-CREF dropped SodaStream, we view this as a conscientious decision.” said Sydney Levy of the We Divest Campaign.

Hater Anna Baltzer says something similar:

Well, we cannot be sure of the reasons why TIAA-CREF divested from SodaStream. We do know that SodaStream has performed very well over the last 12 months, market-wise; well above average. And yet TIAA-CREF decided to divest.

Regardless of TIAA-CREF’s reasons, I think what we’re seeing is that it is increasingly unacceptable to associate in any way, to invest in, to sell products that are produced in illegal Israeli settlements. And we’re seeing this as part of that trend.

Perhaps the age old financial advice of "buy low, sell high" is too difficult for BDSers to fathom.

It is nice to see that even the BDSers admit that they are more than willing to lie and declare victory when the evidence is lacking.

One thing that is very certain is that the sale of SodaStream stock was not because they are divesting from Israel. As noted recently in a linkdump:

For the fourth year in a row, the TIAA-CREF Board refused to put divestment from Israel to a vote at its annual share holders’ meeting. TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical, and cultural fields and a Fortune 100 financial services organization was supported by a recent ruling of the Securities and Exchange Commission in choosing not to plunge its four million investors into the controversial geopolitical issue of sovereignty of disputed areas in the West Bank/ Judea Samaria.

(h/t Lianne)

Destitute Spongebob seen begging in Vegas

Spongebob Squarepants is not doing well.

The formerly popular sponge has had a rough time.

Earlier this year he survived a fatwa that was issued against him, along with accusations of his being gay. (NTTAWWT.)

Then, earlier this week, Spongebob was suddenly sacked from his long-running gig at the EoZ blog.

His reign on the E of the Elder logo was always controversial.

"The decision to let him go was not an easy one," said the Elder. "My heart goes out to him and his underwater family. But I was not prepared to see him sink this low, this fast."

Elder is referring to his chance encounter with SpongeBob in Las Vegas earlier today. The yellow sponge was begging for money from passersby, most of whom ignored him.

"He was so alone," recalls EoZ.

"It was very surprising to see him in person. His work for us has been via telecommuting; I certainly didn't expect to run into him in person!" said a visibly shocked Elder.

"I had given him a generous payout, but apparently he went through it already."

"It was really awkward. But on the other hand, he seemed happy, as always."

Syrian newspaper asks Palestinians for support - since Palestine is southern Syria

Syria-News, which I believe is in opposition to the government, has an article that is concerned that the West will end up dividing Syria along sectarian lines, as it did with Greater Syria in the early 20th century.

So the author is appealing to Palestinian Arabs, who they regard as fellow victims of the Sykes Picot agreement, to help fight against that eventuality - as fellow Syrians!

The author reproduces a letter written by a group of Palestine Arabs in 1919 to the British asking to remain united with Syria. (I think this is the same letter referred to by Daniel Pipes here as being written by Amin Husayni, future mufti of Jerusalem, on behalf of the Arab Club.)

While I couldn't find the full text of this letter online in English, the Arabic translation includes some standard anti-Zionist rhetoric. Interestingly, one of the arguments they give is that Jews act as if they are their own nation and their own people, separate from others, which would cause problems in living with the Arab population. Of course, nowadays the ideological descendants of the Mufti claim that Jews are not a people.

If someone can find the full text of the original letter, let me know. This version has seven main points arguing against a separate Jewish state.

8/01 Links Part 2: Anti-Boycott Lawsuit in Australia, 'Viva Palestina' Investigated, Israeli Ice Rinks!

From Ian:

'Shurat HaDin' Files Suit Over Australian Israel Boycotts

An Israeli civil rights group, Shurat HaDin, has filed a class action complaint under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 with the Australian Human Rights Commission over a Sydney professor's participation and public support of boycotts of Israel including an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
Recently, faculty and students at Sydney University called for the severing of links with Israeli institutions, actions that would be deemed racist and in violation of Australian Federal anti-discrimination laws.
The complaint filed by Shurat HaDin's Australian solicitor Alexander Hamilton is the first time that a Racial Discrimination Act action has been launched in Australia against those promoting boycotts, sanctions and divestment (BDS) against the Jewish State. It is the first time that Australia's anti-racism laws have been utilized against those seeking to harm Israeli academics or businesses because of their national origin.

‘Viva Palestina’ UK Charity Connected to Anti-Israel Activist George Galloway, Under Investigation

A UK charity created in 2009 supposedly to provide aid in the wake of the Israeli ground incursion into Gaza at the time, is being investigated by the Charity Commission after failing to file any annual reports since its inception, Jewish News reported, citing the commission.
Viva Palestina was set up by a group that included far-left British member of parliament, Bradford West MP George Galloway who is known for his anti-Israel rhetoric, and has tried to run convoys carrying supplies into the area.

The anti-Israel lesbian avenger

The real “washing” is by Schulman who consistently whitewashes those most guilty of violating progressive and LGBT principles. She whitewashes Hamas, claiming she can’t judge the group because all she knows “was fed to me on American television” though she could have looked at Hamas’ founding document and leaders’ statements which call for the murder of Jews, obliteration of Israel and establishment of an Islamist caliphate, and liberally quote from the anti-Semitic forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” She justifies participating in demonstrations with Hamas supporters because, she explains, she had also participated in gay parades with Republicans and Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, equating these groups with an internationally designated terrorist organization notorious for its suicide bombing and rocket attacks on innocent civilians. She attributed her concerns about Hamas to her “prejudice.”

BBC Persian Service promotes antisemitic Holocaust denier Atzmon

It is bad enough that the BBC promotes Atzmon in English language broadcasts, especially given that anti-racists in Britain are trying to oppose the spread of his hate speech. But it is even more reprehensible and irresponsible on the part of the BBC to go to the trouble of translating his racist opinions into Persian for promotion in a part of the world which has been spoon-fed with anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial for years by its own repressive regime.

Guardian falsely claims that most new Israeli immigrants move to the West Bank

So, a photo depicting a joyous occasion for a new arrival to the Jewish state was contextualized by the editor to suggest that since such immigrants disproportionately become “settlers”, they can be seen as injurious to the peace process.
However, contrary to the claim made in the caption, most new immigrants do NOT move to “settlements” in the West Bank. As statistics over the last several years published by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics indicate, the most popular destinations are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, with a small minority going to the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

Obama: Weapons Transfers to Hezbollah Are “Unusual and Extraordinary Threat” to U.S. National Security

In a letter addressed to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate, Obama extended for one additional year a 2007 decision to freeze the assets of individuals whose activities undermine stability in Lebanon. “Certain ongoing activities, such as continuing arms transfers to Hezbollah that include increasingly sophisticated weapons systems, serve to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, contribute to political and economic instability in Lebanon, and continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” Obama said in the letter.

Chief of IDF Northern Command: Hezbollah is Better Armed, Better Trained and More Cautious

The ceremony, held at a memorial site in Israel’s north, honored IDF soldiers who lost their lives in the Second Lebanon War. Senior IDF leaders, including Deputy Chief of the General Staff Major General Gadi Eizenkot, attended the ceremony.
“With regard to the situation seven years ago, Hezbollah is better armed, better trained and more cautious,” Maj. Gen. Golan said. “It is facing internal challenges, fighting inside Syria, continues to be a central pillar in the axis of evil and continues to see Israel as a devil that but be exorcised from the world. Hezbollah is deterred, very deterred, but is still intent on evil.”

’Hezbollah maintains complex network of front companies trading in counterfeit medicine’

Hezbollah runs a complex network of front companies in Lebanon, the Gulf states and Europe that trade in counterfeit medicine, Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah reported on Tuesday.
This international business in counterfeit medicine “facilitates the group’s terrorist operations,” the report stated, and includes Iranian citizens.
The group exploits the free trade zone in the Gulf and in Europe to run its business.
Hezbollah also steals drugs from shipments of drugs donated to African countries, sources quoted by the paper said.

French President to Visit Israel by ‘End of the Year’

French President Francois Hollande will visit Israel by the end of the year, the country’s foreign minister said Tuesday, according to French media reports.

A Far East collision with the Middle East

Encouraging Chinese students to study at Rothberg is part of an initiative that aims to strengthen ties between Israeli and Chinese universities. Twelve additional scholarships will be offered in October to Chinese students interested in obtaining a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies and the council will continue to offer additional scholarships to Chinese students over the next two years.
“The perception of Israel in China is not favorable, to my knowledge,” said Azjenstadt, noting that the Chinese are often scared to come to Israel, knowing only what they hear in the news. “This program shows them that life goes on here and Israel is not a scary place. It’s an important diplomatic mission. Forty-seven students won’t change China, but you have to start somewhere.”

Futuristic transport pods coming to Tel Aviv

A group of engineers and dreamers are hoping to ease Tel Aviv’s notorious traffic by making the First Hebrew City the first city in the world to host a mass transport system of magnetically levitating pods.
The city recently hired US consultancy Jenkins Gales & Martinez to get the ball rolling, or pod sliding, on the project.

IDF boot camp commander traveled the world to find a place he belongs

Jonathan Sleischmann was 13 years old when a firebomb was hurled into the open window of his Jewish day school in Caracas.
He didn’t see it. He just heard the screams. The teachers asked the children to quickly exit the classroom and lie down outside. They hid in the grass for five hours.
This wasn’t the first bout of violence. A few years earlier, a Jewish student was kidnapped in the same school – Venezuelan soldiers came through the doors and simply escorted a child from his classroom seat. Everyone watched, stunned.
Chavez could do what he wanted. He happened “to have close relationships to countries that don’t like Jews,” Sleischmann told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview.

IDF legal adviser backs detention of 5-year-old Palestinian stone-thrower

The soldiers who detained a five-year-old Palestinian stone-thrower in Hebron earlier this month were justified, the IDF’s West Bank legal adviser Doron Ben-Barak wrote to NGO B’Tselem in response to a complaint it had filed with him.
“One can’t stand idly by while minors throw stones that endanger bystanders and themselves,” Barak wrote in an opinion dated July 22, which B’Tselem published only on Wednesday.

IDF Honors ‘Inspiring’ Foreign Volunteers

Senior military officers, including Technical and Logistics Directorate head General Kobi Barak and Chief Logistics Officer Brigadier-General Mofid Ghanem, attended the event, as did Sar-El director Brigadier-General (res.) Tzvi Shor.
Since the Yom Kippur war in the early 1970s, more than 160,000 people have volunteered through various IDF programs.

Start-Up Nation: TaKaDu and Netafim Apply Israeli Ingenuity to Improve Global Water Use

Israeli start-ups TaKaDu and Netafim are bringing the country’s ingenuity and experience in water management to play an important part in helping the world use its limted water resources as efficiently as possible, BBC News reported, in a feature on the global water crisis.
TaKaDu has developed a platform to manage big data analytics with cloud-based software to monitor water networks, increasing efficiency with quicker detection of leaks and burst pipes, and saving municipal users millions of dollars annually.

Advantix air-con empire built on ice and salt

When three Israeli brothers back from vacation decided to start a recreational ice-skating business in Israel, they came up against the obvious challenges of making ice float in the Middle East: heat, humidity and high energy bills.
Taking a slab of Dead Sea salt and inspired by the way the lowest place on earth sucks up water from the atmosphere, a new cooling idea was born.
Dan, Tom and Mordechai Forkosh, with their father and uncle, eventually went on to build 22 slush-free ice rinks in Israel and Europe using their patented energy-saving approach.

Israel Daily Picture: Before There Was Jerusalem, There Was Shiloh

We recently discovered online an antique book, "A Month in Palestine and Syria, April 1891," posted by the New Boston Fine and Rare Books. The book includes a travelogue and several dozen photographs of tourists and pilgrims. They also visited Shiloh.

iPod, Yahoo Weather puts Ariel in "Palestine"

Maariv (quoted by Palestine Press Agency) notes that if someone queries Yahoo Weather for Ariel and Maaleh Adumim, the response is that they are in "Palestine."

I checked it out and, for Ariel, it is true:

But Maaleh Adumim, in the web version, is in "Jerusalem, IL."

The screenshot in the article doesn't show Yahoo weather, but iPod weather, which I verified here:

Interestingly, Yahoo Weather is powered by The Weather Channel - but that website puts Ariel in Israel:

The mayor of Maaleh Adumim apparently has a Yahoo weather app on his phone, as he angrily complained that Yahoo was determining political boundaries unilaterally.

8/01 Links Part 1: Netanyahu We Were Here First, Ramallah vs. Peace Process, Assad Joins Instagram

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Ramallah vs. the "Peace Process"

While Palestinian activists were busy threatening the owners of the clothing store, their representatives, Saeb Erekat and Mohamed Shtayyeh, were sitting with Israeli minister Tzipi Livni in Washington and talking about ways of achieving peace and coexistence between the two sides.
What Kerry and the U.S. Administration need to understand is that Abbas has failed to prepare his people for the possibility of peace with Israel. Abbas may be conducting peace talks with Israel, but at the same time he is also backing campaigns that promote boycotts and hatred of Israel. It is important to talk peace. But it is even more important to educate people about peace -- something that neither Yasser Arafat nor his successor, Abbas, have done for the past two decades.

Jeffrey Goldberg: Seven Reasons Kerry's Mideast Talks Are Delusional

Well OK, then: In about nine months, the Arab-Israeli conflict will be over, and we can all move on to something else.
Here's what John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, said yesterday at a news conference in Washington, in the presence of the lead Palestinian and Israeli peace negotiators: "The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues, and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation. And they are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict, ending the claims. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months."
Just to be clear, this is what will need to happen by next April, in time for the White House signing ceremony:

The five flaws of Kerry's Mideast peace process

With so many inherent defects in the current peace talks, why would the U.S. push its most reliable Mideast ally (and the only Middle East democracy) into such perilous waters or inevitable blame? One explanation is the increasingly fashionable idea (promoted by Arab governments) that settlements are blocking a peace deal that would produce Mideast stability.
But inconvenient facts completely contradict this idea: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen (etc.) would remain the same conflict-torn mess as they are now after any Israeli-Palestinian peace.

WATCH: Netanyahu's response to Arab MK who said Arabs were here first

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen in the video immediately raising his hand to be allowed a response from the Knesset podium.
"I did not plan to speak but I heard what MK Zahalka had to say. You said 'We were here before you and we'll be here after you're gone.' The first part is not true and the second part will never take place," the prime minister said, slamming his hand on the podium and leaving.
Netanyahu's comments were met with applause from much of the Knesset, even though Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein asked MKs to refrain from clapping.

Anne Bayefsky: Obama Using the UN to Bully Israel

The UN made me do it. That’s how Obama officials are explaining Secretary Kerry’s intense efforts to move Israel onto the front burner, and shove over the bloody turmoil immediately affecting millions of Israel’s neighbors and the imminent catastrophe of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Speaking to reporters on July 30, 2013, senior officials said the administration was seeking “to avoid a train wreck” at the United Nations. “Throughout the course of this year Palestinians have been making clear that if they couldn’t see progress on the peace front, their intention would be to seek other elevations of their status…at the UN.” “A new dynamic vis-à-vis the United Nations,” was driving the immediacy for renewed talks.

Jewish Human Rights Group Knocks ‘Irony’ of Abbas’s Jew-Free Palestinian State

Officials from Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center hit back at comments made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that any future Palestinian state would be bereft of Israelis.
“Abbas’ vision of peace in the Holy Land is duplicitous and repugnant and only serves to undermine Secretary of State Kerry’s peace initiative,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Center’s associate dean.
“The bitter irony is that Abbas has made a career out of rejecting Israel as a Jewish State, yet has the audacity to claim for himself that the future Palestinian state will be cleansed of Jews,” they continued.

Photojournalist Stages News for Profit and Ideology

Fadi Arouri is one of Ramallah’s biggest opponents of normalizing Israeli-Palestinian ties. He’s also a photographer who isn’t interested in separating his professional journalism and political activism.
And that raises questions about his association with the Reuters wire service and China’s Xinhua News Agency. HonestReporting has learned Reuters fired Arouri, apparently over his extra-curricular activities, but the wire service continues to use his work on a free lance basis.

PA minister urges Palestinians to revolt against Hamas

A Palestinian Authority cabinet minister in Ramallah on Wednesday issued a fatwa (Islamic religious decree) obliging Palestinians to revolt against Hamas and end its control over the Gaza Strip.
The fatwa, issued by PA Minister for Wakf Affairs Mahmoud Habbash, is yet another sign of mounting tensions between Fatah and Hamas in the wake of the crisis in Egypt.

Iran gives Gazans aid, but bypasses Hamas

Already under pressure from the new military-led government in Egypt, the militant group Hamas took another public-relations blow Tuesday when Iran began distributing food aid to Gazans, but delivered the charity through Hamas' rival, Islamic Jihad.
Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, has seen its ties with Iran fray over the last two years, particularly after Hamas refused to back Syrian President Bashar Assad in that country’s civil war. Though Assad had long given exiled Hamas leaders refuge, Hamas political chief Khalid Meshaal left Syria last year after not supporting Assad’s crackdown against predominantly Sunni rebels.

"Radicalizing" the Muslim Brotherhood

The poor Brotherhood. It seems, according to The Times, that people it cannot control are pushing it into violence it does not want. Pardon me, but how do you "radicalize" an organization the credo of which is, "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations"? The Brotherhood was born in violence and knows the value not only of violence, but also of martyrdom. Since its ouster, its leaders have been threatening and inciting violence, hoping to provoke the secular government into killing.

Security experts: Missile used by Syrian rebels poses limited threat to Israel

The rebels identified the weapon as the SA-8, a short-range, 1970s-era surface-to-air system.
A monitor at the launch site shows a missile shooting upward and striking an unidentified aircraft, to shouts of “Allahu akbar” by cheering rebels.
Israeli security experts who viewed the video told The Jerusalem Post that the system could pose a limited threat to Israeli air traffic in the North if radical rebels choose to try and target Israel, but that the Israel Air Force could deal with the threat with relative ease.

Report: Syria Moved Missiles Before Israeli Airstrike

American intelligence analysts have concluded that a recent alleged Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Syria did not succeed in destroying all of the Russian-made anti-ship cruise missiles that were its target, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
American officials who spoke to the newspaper on the matter predicted that further Israeli strikes are likely since some of the missiles hadn’t been destroyed.

Assad Instagram ‘despicable PR stunt’

Syria’s embattled president already has a Facebook page, Twitter account and a YouTube channel. Now Bashar Assad is turning to the popular photo-sharing service Instagram in the latest attempt at improving his image as his country burns, posting pictures of himself and his glamorous wife surrounded by idolizing crowds.

Days before Rouhani to be sworn in, US House sends message to Iran with harsh new sanctions

The Senate is expected to support the legislation— the toughest sanctions package to date, targeting what remains of Iran's oil sector— once Congress reconvenes from its month-long summer recess, sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The bill aims to bring Iranian oil exports essentially down to zero within a year from full passage. Iran has already experienced a 60 percent decrease in oil exports since 2011 due to sanctions.

Tanzania cries foul over masquerading Iranian oil ships

Officials from the East African country’s Zanzibar Maritime Authority have requested that port authorities take stern measures against Iranian ships that use Tanzanian identification codes and reaffirmed that they removed the registration of dozens of Iranian tankers, the website reported.
Authority director Abdi Maalim stressed that his country had canceled the registration of 36 Iranian tankers in order to not fall foul of international sanctions aimed at throttling Iran’s oil exports due to its nuclear program.

Extremist haredi Neturei Karta member offered to spy for Iran

In January 2011, he traveled to Germany and two days after arriving in Berlin entered the Iranian Embassy wearing traditional Jewish garb, introduced himself to the clerk manning the front desk as an Israeli and asked to speak with an embassy official.
At the clerk's request, he handed him his Israeli passport and was allowed into the embassy. He then met with three individuals whose identities are unknown, explained to them that he was a Neturei Karta member and what the sect's principles are, and offered to collect intelligence in Israel on Iran's behalf.

Britain Willing to Restore Ties with Iran

British Foreign Secretary William Hague signalled on Wednesday that Britain was open to improved relations with Iran on a “step-by-step” basis, following talks with his counterpart in Tehran, reported the Daily Telegraph.
The breakthrough phone call between Hague and Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's outgoing foreign minister, came after overtures from Tehran following last month's general election.

Never mind the Czech gold the Nazis stole...

The documents reveal a shocking story: just six months before Britain went to war with Nazi Germany, the Bank of England willingly handed over £5.6 million worth of gold to Hitler – and it belonged to another country.
The official history of the bank, written in 1950 but posted online for the first time on Tuesday, reveals how we betrayed Czechoslovakia – not just with the infamous Munich agreement of September 1938, which allowed the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland, but also in London, where Montagu Norman, the eccentric but ruthless governor of the Bank of England agreed to surrender gold owned by the National Bank of Czechoslovakia.

Khaybar: "Deception is the creed of the Jews, conspiracy their religion"

The antisemitic Khaybar series continues to air nightly throughout the Arab world.

Here are some excerpts from MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from three episodes of the antisemitic Arab TV series "Khaybar," which aired on Dubai TV on June 7, 10, and 18, 2013:

Convention of Jewish leaders

Jewish leader Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Under what pretext shall we fight [the Muslims] in order to finish them off? Have they demonstrated any hostility toward us? Have they declared any ill-will that they have been harboring toward us?

Jewish leader Shas bin Qays: Not yet, but they will. And even if they don't I will confront [Muhammad] by myself. I will declare in front of his followers that he is a liar, who is leading them to perdition.

Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Stop clowning around, Shas.

Shas bin Qays: Sallam! Even if he is a prophet, he shall be killed. Have you forgotten that many a prophet has been killed by the Israelites?

[...]

Yousuf, a Jewish convert to Islam confronts two Jewish leaders who come to visit him in the dungeon, where he is shackled

Yousuf: Life and death are in the hands of the Creator alone, and nothing will befall me except what He has decreed.

Jewish rabbi: Is that what it says in [Muhammad's] book? You are much better with our book.

Yousuf: You mean the laws of Moses which you forged?

Jewish rabbi: You are as blind as Ibn Hawwash!

Yousuf: I swear that ever since I have fallen into this dark dungeon, I see better than ever. I see that you will continue in your sinful ways until a new era dawns, and you become as frail as straw.

Yousuf spits

Jewish rabbi: Deprive him of food and drink until he comes to his senses. Shut the door and lock it.

[...]

Jewish leader: We, the Jews, are not satisfied with anything but deception and scheming in the dark.

Senior Jewish leader: Watch what you say!

Jewish leader: Do you know what the master of schemes and deception said before his death?

Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Are you referring to Huyay Ibn Akhtab [the leader of the Jewish tribe of Bani Nadhir]? You didn't tell me that he is dead.

Jewish leader: He was killed.
[...]

Ever since they rebelled against Moses, deception has become their creed and conspiracy their religion – until the end of time.

Besides the obvious incitement against Jews, this also seems to violate the law in many Muslim countries against "defamation of religion."

I mean, they cannot only be referring to one religion and not others, could they?

Iran declares that Israel will never realize its "Nile to Euphrates" dream

This Friday will be the annual "Quds Day", and this article in Iran's Farsnews is fairly typical of the articles appearing in Iranian media for the last couple of days:

The Iranian Armed Forces, in a statement, called on the entire Iranian nation and all Muslims across the world to stage a massive turnout in the International Quds Day rallies, and underlined that the Zionist regime's Nile to Euphrates dream will never come true.

"The Zionists' dream of creating a big Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates, changing the map of the region and forming a new Middle-East for the US will never be materialized," the statement said on Wednesday.

The statement invited different walks of life of the Iranian people as well as the freedom-seeking and right-seeking nations of the world to massively participate in the International Quds Day rallies.

The International Quds Day was started by the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in 1979 as a way of expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and underscoring importance of Quds to Muslims.

International Quds Day is an annual event opposing Israel's occupation of Baitul-Muqaddas.

Anti-Zionist rallies and demonstrations are held on the last Friday of Ramadan in Muslim and Arab countries around the world, and especially in Iran.

Actually, it is almost only celebrated in Iran, with some Shiites in Iraq and Pakistan joining in.

Apartheid! Israel closes Temple Mount to non-Muslims for two weeks

From JPost:

The Joint Committee of Temple Organizations condemned on Wednesday the closure of the Temple Mount to non- Muslim visitors for the last two weeks of Ramadan.

According to the committee, an association of right-wing groups seeking to assert Jewish prayer rights as well as Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount, access to the site during the Muslim holy month has always been granted in previous years, although on a slightly reduced scale compared to the rest of the year.

Outside of Ramadan, the Temple Mount is usually open to non-Muslims for three hours every morning and one hour in the afternoon, while during Ramadan it has previously been open only in the morning.

This year, however, all access to non-Muslim visitors has been prohibited in the two final weeks of Ramadan.

According to Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a spokesman for the committee, in previous years the Temple Mount has been open in the morning to non- Muslims for the entirety of Ramadan.

Glick attributed the change in policy to a new phenomenon in which hundreds of Palestinian youths have slept at the site during this year’s Ramadan.

This year, the site was open in the morning for the first two weeks, although Jewish visitors were harassed and verbally abused, which led the police to evacuate them on several occasions.

Guess what? Threats and harassment work! Muslims have managed to turn Judaism's holiest site into a Muslim-only zone.

If the police wanted to avoid riots, they should ban the potential rioters, not the innocent victims. Rewarding abuse and harassment is the best recipe to increase it.

And how is the Arabic media reporting it?

Saudi Arabia's Al Yaum writes:

Israeli authorities raised the state of alert in Jerusalem and has increased the number of troops, and tightened their siege on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and banned settlers from daily visits to the mosque until the night of the Qadr, which falls next Sunday.

As usual - pocketing the gains and then complaining that it is not enough.

PA caretaker PM Hamdallah denies report of apologizing to Abbas

A couple of days ago there was a report in Al Quds al Arabi saying that short-term PA prime minister Rami Hamdallah apologized for resigning and embarrassing Mahmoud Abbas.

Today, Hamdallah denies this completely and says he has no plans to remain prime minister.

The current, temporary prime minister's term was only meant to be for five weeks. The expiration date should have been last Sunday by my calculations.

Jordan refuses potato shipment from Gaza

On Sunday, two truckloads of potatoes were shipped out of Gaza through Israel en route to Jordan as another massive hole was exploited in the supposed "siege" of Gaza.

Today, Jordan refused the shipment.

The reason?

Gaza isn't on Jordan's list of approved countries for potato imports.

The Gaza potato farmers did everything necessary to ensure that Israel would be comfortable with the export going through its territory. They must have had a paying customer in Jordan. It is plausible, if far-fetched, that no one thought to ask whether Jordan would allow potatoes from Gaza to be imported.

Jordan's farmers have been upset over imports of produce from other countries, particularly Israel, so it is possible that they placed some pressure on whatever official made this decision.

The Gaza exporter noted that the Palestinian Authority did nothing to try to convince Jordan to allow the import.

The siege of Gaza is apparently true - it is blockaded by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

(h/t Judge Dan)

I almost feel bad for the Muslim Brotherhood

Sure, they were building a theocracy in Egypt. Yes, they were actively shutting down press freedoms. Of course, they were supporting Hamas terrorism. Certainly, they threw opponents off of roofs at times. Absolutely they incited against Copts and other minorities.

But the people replacing the MB are just as crazy and certainly just as willing to make up lies about the Muslim Brotherhood as the MB was when it was in power.

I noted a couple of weeks ago that a lawsuit was filed against the Brotherhood to determine whether it was making backroom deals with the American Jewish Committee to allow Jews to return to Egypt en masse.

Well, a reporter who obviously hates the Ikhwan has done some amazing investigative journalism and figured out exactly what the AJC and the MB were scheming in their "secret meeting." (Of course, AJC press releases at the time, saying that they discussed rights for Copts and women, cannot be trusted.)

Besides the deal to give a good portion of Egypt back to Egyptian Jews, we learn that the AJC includes Mossad members. Naturally. And the Mossad was working hand in hand with their Islamist allies to come up with ways to secure Israel.

This is besides the articles claiming that the founder of the MB was Jewish and other conspiracy theories that gain respected airings in mainstream post-Morsi Egyptian media.

I honestly think that if the Egyptian army completes the coup, cancels future elections and installs a military dictator, that would be the least bad of all options available for Egypt during the next five years.

7/31 Links Part 2: HRW Ken Roth's Israel Obsession, Richard Landes Terrorist Chic in France

From Ian:

UN Watch: Why does Ken Roth keep blaming Egyptian abuses on Israel?

Weird that when Egypt's generals perpetrate abuses, Human Rights Watch's Ken Roth has the habit of injecting Israel into the discussion, attempting to implicate it by association.
To restore democracy in Egypt, says Roth, we must "not let Israel concerns stand in way." Yet the linked Washington Post editorial spoke of "peace with Israel." Roth changes the language to preserve his narrative of sinister "Israel concerns." Moreover, he omits the editorial's larger emphasis on policymakers' concern for "the [Egyptian] armed forces’ history as a U.S. ally":

Richard Landes: Terrorist Chic in France, From the Jeu de Paume Exhibit to Al Durah to Mohamed Merah

How can the French, who know what Nazi occupation was like, compare their experience to that of Palestinians in the West Bank? How they could not notice that while the Nazis killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in occupied Europe as part of their deliberate policy of collective punishment, the Palestinians kill thousands of civilians as part of their “resistance”? How could they miss the difference between an “occupation” that kills 6 million Jews and one that produces a Palestinian population with the highest standard of living in the non-oil-rich Arab world? How can they glorify a movement that embraces and intensifies Nazi Jew-hatred? And why do they view Jews who attempt to protect themselves from that aggression through the eyes of those who foment hatred? How did such a profound moral disorientation occur, and why has it been elevated to the level of high art?

Bill Seeks to Advance US Embassy Move to Jerusalem

The bill, H.R.. 2846, is the latest attempt to put pressure on the Obama administration to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a step the administration and past administrations have been unwilling to take.
According to The Hill, the bill was introduced on Friday, just a few days before Israel and the Palestinian Authority were set to resume peace talks in Washington.

Two Hurt in Rock Attack on Bus in Jerusalem

A 15-year-old teen and a 40-year-old man were wounded on Tuesday evening in a rock attack on a bus in Jerusalem.
Arab terrorists hurled rocks at the bus as it was travelling from the Neve Yaakov neighborhood towards central Jerusalem.

Jihadists fire ‘US-made ballistic missile’ at Sinai security HQ

Jihadists attacked the Egyptian security headquarters in northern Sinai ostensibly using an American-made ballistic missile, Egypt’s interior ministry said early Monday morning.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the ministry said the missile, which it said was made by the US, hit the third floor of the building in the city of el-Arish on Sunday evening, injuring three soldiers. Photos of the missile’s tail posted on the Facebook page reveal a small plaque reading “guided missile surface attack.” The missile was reportedly 168 centimeters (66 inches) long, 25 centimeters (10 inches) wide, and fired from “a great distance.”

Syrian Electronic Army Hijacks Thomson Reuters Twitter Account

In its latest attack on news outlets, the Syrian Electronic Army hijacked the Twitter account of Thomson Reuters news agency.
It started with this tweet late Monday afternoon, which I re-tweeted shortly thereafter in case it disappeared (and it has).
It was preceded by several other tweets containing political cartoons, which are captured here in screen shots. (Warning, they’re not exactly funny).

Aleppo rebel religious committee forbids ‘colonial’ croissants

A sharia committee in the city issued a fatwa on Facebook prohibiting “Muslim women wearing makeup and tight clothes that reveal physical features from going out.”
A fatwa issued by the Council of the United Judiciary, affiliated with the rebel Free Syrian Army, stipulated a year in jail for anyone not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Report: Iran to supply Syria with $3.6 billion worth of oil

Iran and Syria have come to an agreement by which Tehran will supply Damascus with $3 billion worth of oil on loan, AFP reported Tuesday, citing Syria's official news agency SANA.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad has seen oil production in the country dissipate as result of the civil war.

Analysts predict Iran able to produce atom bomb by mid-2014

Iran is expected to achieve a "critical capability" to produce sufficient weapon-grade uranium by mid-2014, without being detected, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said in a report on Tuesday.
According to the Washington-based think tank, Iran would achieve this capability by implementing its existing plans to install thousands more IR-1 centrifuges at its declared Natanz and Fordow centrifuge sites.

Turkey Hopes 2013 Trade With Iran Will Reach $30 Billion, up 36% From 2012

The announcement comes as the US threatens further economic sanctions on Iran, while NATO member Turkey has made it clear that it will continue, and even step up, trade with the Iranian regime.
Following a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Ali Reza Bikdeli, Yazıcı said in a statement released by his office: “We want to carry the trading volume one step further. The two countries have great responsibilities and roles with regard to elevating our bilateral trading volume, which was $22 billion in 2012, to $30 billion in the forthcoming period.” The forecasted increase is greater than 36%.

Bipartisan Letter Criticizes Turkish Officials’ Anti-Semitic Comments

Members of U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee have sent a bipartisan letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül asking for the condemnation of recent anti-Semitic statements by Turkish officials.
The letter by Brad Schneider (D-IL), Randy Weber (R-TX), Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) was signed by 46 U.S. Representatives and noted remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referring to Zionism as a “crime against humanity.”

Prison, lashes for liberal Saudi web forum founder

The founder of a liberal-minded website in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes after angering Islamic authorities in the ultraconservative kingdom, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Raif Badawi, through his website known as Free Saudi Liberals, had urged Saudis to share opinions about the role of religion in the country, which follows a strict form of Islam that includes harsh punishments for challenging customs.

Serial Abusers Stand for UN 'Human Rights' Elections

The UN has announced that elections for 14 influential seats on its Human Rights Council will be held on November 12th, with the world body for the first time confirming that candidates include China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and other regimes criticized for widespread human rights abuses.
Iran pulled out of the race after the July 9th revelation by UN Watch, a non-governmental human rights group based in Geneva, sparked outrage worldwide.

Israeli Navy Installing System to Counter Yakhont Russian Anti-Ship Missile

Israel’s Navy has begun installing a new defense system on its missile boats that would protect them from the feared Yakhont Russian anti-ship missile, Israel Hayom reported.
The Barak 8 medium-range missile is designed to intercept airborne threats, including enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles. “History has never seen ships capable of controlling territory as well as Israel’s Navy using the Barak 8 missile,” according to a source familiar with the weapon.

An Inside Look: IDF Helps Palestinians Cross into Israel from Gaza

Major Tariq, a senior commander in the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), works in one of Israel's most sensitive areas. Stationed at the Erez Crossing – just steps away from Gaza – he and his soldiers face the constant threat of attacks from Hamas terrorists. Since 2005, Hamas has launched 8,000 rockets from Gaza at populated areas in Israel’s southern region.
Despite the danger, Maj. Tariq works every day to help Palestinians cross into Israel from Gaza. As a result of his cooperation with the Palestinian Authority – which also works with a division of COGAT in Judea and Samaria – about 400 Gazans travel into Israel each day through the Erez crossing.

Original Schindler’s List goes unsold on eBay

An original list of names of 801 Jews rescued by German industrialist Oskar Schindler did not find a buyer on eBay.
No one met the opening bid of $3 million for the 14-page list typed on onion skin paper. California collectors Gary Zimet and Eric Gazin had said when the auction was announced earlier this month that they expected the list to sell for about $5 million.
Though the list had no bids, more than half a million people viewed the auction on eBay.

Dr. Oz at Yad Vashem: We can never forget

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the famous TV doctor from the United States, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, both of whom have been spending time Israel, visited Yad Vashem on Tuesday.
The two men and their families were guided by Hanoch Teller through the Yad Vashem's Holocaust museum, the Hall of Names and the Children's Memorial. Following his visit, Oz told Israel Hayom that the museum helped him understand the dimensions of the Holocaust, and the horrific system the Nazis employed to carry out their plans. Oz said he was stunned at how the Nazis were able to come up with arguments to back their actions, leading the Jews to their deaths.
Oz said the lessons of the Holocaust must be remembered, so that history does not repeat itself.